Use and abuse of social media in Nigerian elections

Over a million Nigerians are on Facebook, and so are most of Nigeria’s newspapers. In addition, the number of Nigerians with Twitter accounts is growing; most newspapers and bloggers also use Twitter.

Elections social media-style

Since the announcement of the date of Nigeria’s 2011 elections, the country’s news media has been full of stories of political intrigue; a plethora of candidates has emerged. Old faces, which needed to disappear, have revived themselves; new ones provide plenty of opportunities for gossip.

Together with campaign and pro-democracy groups, they are all vying for constituencies and publicity using social media like Twitter and Facebook.

While it is positive to see so many candidates and pro-democracy groups doing it, a disturbing trend has begun to emerge over the last month. It raises questions of social media ethics.

To put social media into Nigeria’s context, it is important to note that out of a population of around 150 million, between 70 and 80 per cent of people live on $1 a day. Around 43 million people in Nigeria – almost a third – are estimated to have access to the internet.

However, this figure doesn’t break down into those who have internet access at home or at work and those who occasionally use it in public cafés. Nor does it correlate with the numbers living on $1 a day or the literacy rate of 50 per cent.

Where is the real Save Nigeria?

My concerns over the misuse of social media in the Nigerian elections came a few weeks ago, when I received an email from a Facebook group called Save Nigeria (SN). It informed me that it had now become the ‘Dele Momodu for Nigeria’ election campaign group.

My first reaction was to remove myself from the group and report this via Twitter. Later I discovered there are three Momodu campaign groups on Facebook and several Twitter handles connected to his campaign: TeamMomodu, Dele Momodu, MrFixNigeria and Cool2Vote.

MrFixNigeria is Momodu’s campaign manager and the creator of the non-partisan Cool2Vote site. He relinquished his professional interest in the group when he became campaign manager, yet the tweets on his personal account and that of Cool2Vote are often similar in content.

Another example of this trend is the social media strategy applied by President Goodluck Jonathan (PGJ). I recently counted 17 Facebook groups under PGJ; however, only two appear to be directly connected to him. There are also various Twitter accounts, but again, only two appear to be directly connected to the president.

Another Twitter account under PGJ – Presjonathan, previously linked to the Facebook page, is now deleted. There is also a second campaign site, ‘Goodluck Jonathan 2011’, which links to Facebook pages ‘President Jonathan’ and ‘Goodluck Jonathan Campaign’. Jonathan used the latter to announce his candidacy for 2011, but it no longer links to his Twitter or Youtube channels.

I understand that the above is confusing, and that is exactly my point. While there is no evidence of intentional deception, the connections between the supposedly non-partisan campaign groups and presidential candidates and their campaigns AND between the federal government and the election campaign of the president, suggest incompetence at best and lack of probity at worst.

The second emerging trend is that although candidates are using social media, they are not engaging with their followers. The candidates and their representatives often ignore people’s questions on both Facebook and Twitter. But even this lack of feedback has not rubbed off on the followers, who are actively engaged in conversations with each other.

The ugly

One exception to this is the Dele Momodu campaign, administered through his campaign manager MrFixNigeria, whose real name is Ohimai Godwin Amaizey. Unfortunately, his engagement is not always pleasant and in some cases it is outright abusive. This raises questions about bullying on social media and how this can be dealt with.

In the case of MrFixNigeria, it is particularly irresponsible and worrying, given his connection to a political campaign.

One example took place last Sunday. MrFixNigeria sent a tweet stating that the Dele Momodu campaign was offering Naira 5 million in exchange for writing a party manifesto. Although there is nothing illegal about this, many Nigerian Twitter users found this unethical. They are concerned about attaching material gain to a campaign, no matter how well-intended.

The response from MrFixNigeria was dismissive and abusive to me and others to the point where he called me a ‘cockroach’. A section of the conversation is printed below, but more comments to others can be seen on MrFixNigeria’s Twitter timeline for Sunday 17 October between 7am and 10am EST.

MrFixNigeria: @blacklooks DESTRUCTIVECRITICISMS are like Cockroaches – good only for destruction. All constructive criticisms are very welcome my dear.

8:38am, Oct 17

blacklooks: @MrFixNigeria That is a complete cop out – admit it you cannot deal with criticism – stop offering ppl money to hlp u

8:40am, Oct 17

MrFixNigeria: @blacklooks If you make yourself a Cockroach on my Twitter space, I will treat you as one. Trust me.

8:45am, Oct 17

MrFixNigeria: @blacklooks And you are gradually metamorphosing into a Twitter roach! Hehehe! I have my broomstick waiting for you…rubbish! Lol!

And more…

In another unconnected Twitter conversation on the same day, extremely homophobic comments were exchanged between a number of Nigerian Twitter users. They were related to the outing of a Nigerian celebrity, Charley Boy, in the local media.

These abusive comments are particularly disturbing in the context of the recent outing of LGBTI community in Uganda, who were threatened with hanging, and the increasing number of suicides among young gay boys and men in the US, a consequence of homophobic bullying.

There are many LGBTI Nigerians who use Facebook and Twitter and one has to consider how such bullying impacts on their psyche and security. Although Facebook has a procedure for reporting hate on its site, Twitter appears to be free-for-all, with no clear policy on hate language, abuse or bullying.

Opportunity for offline support

The Nigerian elections are still some six months away and it will be interesting to return to the issues raised in this post to see if there have been any changes.

Dele Momodu’s followers are between a few hundred and 4,000, depending on which sites you visit, and I don’t believe he has much of a chance of being elected, despite the hype around his having the ‘youth’ vote.

So far, President Jonathan has nearly 300,000 fans on his Facebook page and each post there receives between 100 and 3,000 ‘likes’ and comments, which is pretty amazing – it shows that people are seriously interested.

It’s just a shame that his office is not taking this opportunity to actively engage with his followers. Facebook and Twitter also provide an opportunity to recruit a huge number of offline volunteers to support his campaign in the field, but that needs to start now, if there is to be any real impact on voters.

I have not mentioned some of the other candidates, such as Nuhu Ribadu, Atiku Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida, all of whom have Twitter and other social media accounts. Hopefully someone else will take the time to investigate them in some depth.

The RT sign before @rmajayi suggests that I (@rmajayi) am the source of 3 of the abusive tweets shown in the screenshots above.

I wish to state for the record, that this is not the case and that the abusive tweets were created and posted entirely by @MrFixNigeria. They are not RT's of my tweets, neither do they express my views. They were in fact, directed at me to cause embarrassment.

I do not particularly agree with some of the things written in this article as regards abuse of social media by Nigerians. First, anyone can open facebook and twitter account with any name. Even before the president started using facebook, there were two accounts bearing the presidents name.

Secondly you have no control of the discussions going on in the public space. The writers view of social media is myopic and skewed. Its a public space just like ordinary society and anything is obtainable.

I would just when people come to the public space, they have a right to shut off their ears and eyes to whatever they do not like. its better than complaining about everything.

I have been following Mr. Fix Nigeria for a while now. Say whatever you want, he is a great guy who hardly gets angry and is very decent and polite to those around him. I was a witness on Twitter that Sunday afternoon when @rmajayi, @eggheader, @blacklooks (Sokari Ekine, the writer of this very subjective piece) swarmed upon Ohimai (@MrFixNigeria) saying all sort of inflammatory things about his campaign - the Dele Momodu campaign. Nowhere in his responses to all the hate comments did he call anyone a Cockroach. The worst I remember where quoted by the writer in the article above and I think it is unfair to give a dog a bad name simply because we want to hang it. For a long time we have been complaining about the older generation giving Nigerian youths a chance. Now, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, we have a 26 year old man as a presidential campaign coordinator. Instead of seeking ways we can constructively help his campaign get better, we are busy here attempting to pull down his efforts. MrFixNigeria deserves an apology from the writer of this article for this unnecessary smear tactic approach against a guy whose passion for social change in Nigeria is not in question.

Please note as a matter of clarification the following was written by @MRFIXNIGERIA in response to @rRmajayi's criticism of the planned N5million payout for writing a manifesto for the Dele Momodu campaign.

[email protected]: you are a lousy noisemaker craving attention.1 more silly tweet and I will block u. @eggheader @blacklooks @solomonsydelle

mogbomoya @ I dont have to post the entire thread. First of all those who wish to view it can go and do so as I have given the date and time and secondly I am referring to specific tweets which use the word 'cockroach' to describe me.

@ Momoh - Again the same. The evidence is in the tweets which are there for all to see . What I have presented here is fact - the facts are on Facebook, on Twitter on websites for all to see.

You copiusly quoted @MrFixNigeria's response to @rmajayi but you failed to quote the series of tweets from @rmajayi, yourself and @eggheader which led to @MrFixNigeria referring to @rmajayi as a lousy attention seeker. It is a pity I can't trace the entire timeline now. But there is something not right when you select only the tweets that are convenient to justify your claims against @MrFixNigeria. We are supposed to be the future of this country. Let's be careful how we throw stones at each other. I rest my case.

Momoh@ The point is I am pointing out the abuse by MrFixNigeria ie calling me and referring to me as a ’cockroach’. Again and again it is all in the timeline for everyone to see so no I am not ’copiously quoted[ing] MrFixNigeria!.

That is the point I am making.

Repeat: the rest of the conversation is not relevant BECAUSE there is no justification for using that language when you are a representative of a political candidate and no where was I or anyone else abusive to MrFixNigeria or anyone else.

The issue here is not MrFixNigeria's age or his effort to include the youth in politics, or anything related to that matter.

The main issue is that a representative of a politician, indeed a presidential candidate, is using words that are abusive, offensive and degrading. That is completely inappropriate for a person of his position and if there is anyone to apologize, that should be him.

Whatever happened on Sunday, I'm highly offended that the writer failed to address his/her grievances appropriately. He/she dragged Nigeria into it. It has nothing to do Nigeria !. If anyone here have problem with Mr FixNigeria. That individual should squarely make his/her feelings known. Facebook is open to the world. Nigeria is not the only country that uses facebook. Afterall you can register any domain name, create account with facebook with any name..must we always blame Nigeria for everything ?

’Later I discovered there are three Momodu campaign groups on Facebook and several Twitter handles connected to his campaign: TeamMomodu, Dele Momodu, MrFixNigeria and Cool2Vote.

’MrFixNigeria is Momoduâs campaign manager and the creator of the non-partisan Cool2Vote site. He relinquished his professional interest in the group when he became campaign manager, yet the tweets on his personal account and that of Cool2Vote are often similar in content.’

Na waooo! Reading this part of the article, the first thing that came to my mind was, Oh my God, this is not fair! Ohimai must have really upset this writer because to say the least, this article smarks of pent up resentment against not just Ohimai but even the person of Dele Momodu and his campaign.

I will say the little I can here based on the facts available to me and I will leave the rest to God and posterity. I thank God I was part of the Cool2Vote Nigeria campaign when it started in May this year. So whatever I am saying here, I will say as an insider to the campaign. The above statement that ’there are three Momodu campaign groups on Facebook and several Twitter handles connected to his campaign: TeamMomodu, Dele Momodu, MrFixNigeria and Cool2Vote’ is nothing but a statement of falsehood and casts a credibility shadow over this blog, its writer and the intentions behind this write-up.

First, I challenge the writer of this blog to provide one single evidence that Cool2Vote on Twitter is ’connected’ to Dele Momodu's presidential campaign. If @TeamDeleMomodu and @MrFixNigeria on Twitter send out tweets with the hashtag #Cool2Vote, does that make Cool2Vote a part of Dele Momodu's presidential campaign?

Second, the writer's statement that ’MrFixNigeria is Momoduâs campaign manager and the creator of the non-partisan Cool2Vote site’ is another false assertion coloured with half-thruths in what seems to be the writer's hasty attempt to demonise MrFixNigeria. Too bad. To the best of my knowledge, MrFixNigeria or Ohimai is not a website designer and could not have created the non-partisan Cool2Vote site. We know Ohimai as the founder of the Cool2Vote Nigeria Campaign. Not a site creator.

Third, your statement that ’the tweets on his personal account and that of Cool2Vote are often similar in content’ is another attempt at falsehood. How sad. In the interest of social justice which your blog description claims to pursue, I challenge you to provide evidence in MrFixNigeria's Twitter timeline that shows similarity between the content of his tweets and that of @Cool2Vote.

I await your responses.

@Giedre

’DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISMS are like Cockroaches â good only for destruction. All constructive criticisms are very welcome my dear.’

’If you make yourself a Cockroach on my Twitter space, I will treat you as one. Trust me.’

’And you are gradually metamorphosing into a Twitter roach! Hehehe! I have my broomstick waiting for youâ¦rubbish! Lol!’

There is nothing wrong in the above tweets especially when they were directed as responses in a two-way conversation. I wasn't on Twitter the day this happened but I will love to see the tweets from @rmajayi and @blacklooks which warranted the above responses. We cannot take the above tweets in mere isolation because truly, people can really put up irritating behaviour on social media and the designers of platforms like Facebook and Twitter were not daft when they put the ’block’ and ’report’ buttons.

The reason those who have axes to grind are so uppity here is clear. Silencing different opinions to those in favour of opinions we agree with alone is not the way to go. Referring to anyone who holds a different opinion in abusive terms doesn't help either.

While Sokari's article voices the use and abuse of Social networks/media in the approach to the Nigeria Election in 2011 she is facing slander for destructive criticism and or misinformation by MrFixNigeria and the website's followers? The rapid change from traditional campaigning methods to an internet based system can confuse rather then enlighten supporters, participants and electorate alike and lead to deception claims.

Shouldn't the electorate's interest be about, ’what is best for Nigeria?’ as opposed to, ’what a given personality or personalities would best personify a country in economic dire straits?’ not to mention the duplicitous use of social media in the approaching to Nigeria 2011... A vicarious race in the internet age towards the poll will not save the electorate or Nigeria for that matter. However it might hasten a dash back to the past when political stalwarts of old repackaged themselves ad infinitum for perpetual chunks of the ’national cake’.

This time around, can we truly, through a clearer picture of where Nigeria is heading get the electoral act together rather than lose ourselves in the nostalgia of an American campaign style? I hope so but I am not getting those up just yet.

Different opinions are the spice of a democratic electoral system, that is, if it is given the chance of a balanced race. Perhaps this is something Nigeria 2011 may encourage and learn from rather than reject out of hand?

Please any objective, well reasoning person that interacts with that disgrace of a campaign manage will admit that he is a bully who cannot take any form of criticism, even when the criticism is constructive

He is not representing Dele Momodu well at all and HE is the reason why I will never vote for Dele Momodu. I was prepared to give Dele a chance but once I saw how that boy bullies people online, I said, never, never! If the campaign manager is like this, imagine how the candidate will be.

He is a disgrace to Nigerian youths let me tell you. I don't know how much Dele is paying him for his campaign manager job or how much he put into Bling Corp or whatever he calls it, but it is not worth it at all. Before this, I had so much respect for this young man. Now I see him for what he is. An ambitious, empty soul who cannot listen even for one second. God help Nigeria if that young man is ever appointed to any political office. We will be finished!

It really beats my imagination why the writer of this piece had to drag in the Cool2Vote Nigeria campaign in a way that detracts from the credibility of the campaign. I am the National Coordinator of Cool2Vote Nigeria and I must state clearly here without any contradictions that the campaign is non-partisan and has not endorsed any presidential aspirant. Even if @MrFixNigeria on Twitter sent out tweets which @Cool2Vote re-tweeted or vice-versa, does it amount to abuse of social media? What really was the REASON for this piece? The misunderstanding between Sokari Ekine and Ohimai? Dele Momodu's presidential campaign and the number of followers he has on Facebook? The Cool2Vote campaign? If the Sunday incident on Twitter hadn't occurred would this piece have been written? This is just not fair. Using your personal scores with an individual to bring down an entire campaign? This is untidy.

Criticism is a good thing and I love it. People must be free to air their opinions but not to the detriment of others. People must understand that their right to freedom of expression stops where that of the next man begins. It is this understanding that makes for the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of societies. Otherwise, men would continue to live in a Hobbesian society where life is short, nasty and brutish. More so, your criticism becomes a wasted effort when you present it in a way that makes the person or persons to whom it is directed think you have something personal against them. That is the summary of this article. I don't know the writer of this blog and have never met him/her but reading through was a big discouragement. Sitting in the comfort of one's home, it is easy to spot the flaws in others who are toiling in the trenches.

Meanwhile, the politicians in Abuja are busy buying up young voters and someone is here tearing down the efforts of young Nigerians to mobilise themselves to come out in 2011 to register to vote, select credible leaders, vote for them and defend their votes. Sokari, on behalf of the Cool2Vote Nigeria Campaign, we wish you well in all your future endeavors. It is well.

@blacklooks, I think you are partly to blame, from what I read here you were attacking him too.I also dont think it is right to say someone has absolutely no chance of winning. let the electorate decide. Have a beautiful day.

Your comment smarks nothing but pure beef against MrFixNigeria. This is really getting irritating and doesn't help Sokari's arguments any further. This has just confirmed to some of us who wanted to take this blog seriously that this must be a premeditated attack against Ohimai, Dele Momodu and his presidential campaign. Now it is getting clearer why the article focused so much on MrFixNigeria and Dele Momodu. Guys, come out with your real identities. This article is really not about what it claims to be. Like someone said on this thread, why did the writer wait till she had a disagreement with MrFixNigeria on Twitter before getting the inspiration to write this hate report? Smh!

@dokpemuare you really impressed with yourself after that comment? We can't risk leaving you in the same room with Ohimai o, it is obvious you hate that young man so much so that you can even eat him raw if given the chance.anyway, I am happy for Ohimai. If nobody talk about you, then you are nobody. This shows that you are getting somewhere and this is just the beginning of more envy and hate to come. How many 26 year olds are presidential campaign managers? You are even lucky to still be alive. but really, the comment from dokpemu is seriously sickening.at some point, it looked like that comment was from MEND! lol

well if this is a personal attack against Mr. Fix Nigeria what did he expect? How can he expect to call someone a cockroach and get away with it. Next time he should keep his mouth shut and act like someone who has home training. Imagine the insolence. HISS!

My own beef with Ohimai Godwin is that he abandoned Nuhu Ribadu for Dele Momodu. Trust me if he was in Ribadu's camp he won't be getting all this heat. A lot of youths feel like he is selling their earlier support for him and his Fix Nigeria campaign for a mess of pottage to Dele's camp.

hahahaha! Tahir you are very funny! I am so jealous. An unruly 26 year old is running Dele Momodu's campaign. The person that should be worried is Dele Momodu because the guy is clearly childish and inexperienced if not he won't be calling people cockroaches online.

By the way, please don't insult me with this useless metric of achievement. As if everybody is dying to be dele momodu's campaign manager.

Ride on MrFixNigeria! This is the price you have to pay for fame and social relevance. Some of your critics on this thread will die to be in your shoes. Prepare for more insults ahead. It is the way of jobless critics; they must have something to say, they are always right and the rest of the world are wrong. I see some of the comments on this blog as nothing but pure envy and it is a big dent on the credibility of this platform. One thing I know, truth is a constant and very soon, the real motives of the writer will come out in the open. Where is she sef? There are pending queries from Dami waiting for her to answer and she is nowhere to be found after setting up a wildfire online. And come to think of it, some of the nuisances on social media can be more irritating than cockroaches...it is true and we know it....jaare!

@dokpemufirst i think you should thank me for adding the ’u’ to your name.lol! Yes, in a country of over 140 million people, there are millions dying to be Dele Momodu's campaign manager including dokpemu (who unfortunately does not have the credentials). I am very convinced that you are a non-achiever and that's why you have the time to come online to pour out such hate venom against your fellow human being. something tells me you have been aspiring for years to be like Ohimai (MrFixNigeria) but to no avail. Reveal your identity and prove me wrong. I am not in doubt that when we see your real name, it won't even ring a bell. we know your type. frustration no good o.hahahaha!

Tahir and Briggs, you both sound like your GodFather ’Mr. Fix Nigeria’ so I don't blame any of you for your low life comments. Just so you know, not everyone is dying for fame in the name of ’social activism’ you hear me?

whoever is dying to be the campaign manager for a persona non grata candidate like Dele Momodu is either a fame whore or a deluded clown who actually thinks being Dele Momodu's campaign manager means something of note.maybe I too should go and become chris okotie's campaign manager and start beating my chest as if anyone cares. Let us wait till after the elections. He will see that all this kicking and scratching he is doing is not worth it.

As far as I'm concerned, he is Dele's messenger boy. His tool for deceiving gullible youths to join his opportunistic campaign. If he can't see this for himself that is his own business. Perhaps when he gets older and wiser and looks back, he will realise this.

and please clap for yourself for adding u to dokpem. I am laughing with you. I meant it that way.

@dokpemuHahahaha!you are so so predictable and I knew you would come back kicking and scratching like a cheated whore.lol!At least we both agree on one thing - being Dele Momodu's messenger boy with an identity is better than being a faceless attack-dog for one Sokari Ekine.poverty and joblessness is such a bad combination o. if you can sing, try sending an entry to the Dele Momodu Sing4Vote competition. There are 3 prizes to be won - N2.5 million, N1.5 million and N1 million. this may just mark the end of your poverty and joblessness.hahahaha! You know what? Right now, Sokari and the rest of you all have messed yourselves up so much with the subjectiveness of this blog such that even IBB has more credibility than you guys right now. shame! shame! shame! is this what you call social justice? Oya come attack me cos I know you will! I'm waiting for you, bully-dog.lol!

The statement below was a clarification sent to all members of the ’Save Nigeria’ Facebook group which was changed to ’Dele Momodu for Nigeria’.

’This group, earlier known as ’Save Nigeria’ was never the official Facebook page of the Save Nigeria Group. The similarity in name was PURE COINCIDENCE.

’The Facebook group - Save Nigeria was created on April 1st 2009 long before the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) came into existence.

’Please note that the change of this group's name should not in any way suggest that the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) has ENDORSED Dele Momodu as its candidate for 2011. More so, the SNG is not a political party but a non-partisan platform.

’Nonetheless, we see ourselves as one big family fighting for the same cause - a new Nigeria.

’Thus, members of this group should feel free to stay or leave the group though we would implore members to stay if only to keep track with developments on the Dele Momodu campaign trail.

’Thanks, God bless you and God bless Nigeria!’

******************************Is this what you call abuse of social media? I disagree politely with you and I doubt if you saw this statement before writing. Thanks and goodbye.

Please respond to my questions. I am reposting them now. Please do yourself a favour of protecting whatever remains of the integrity of this blog by answering my questions. In law there is a saying that ’He who alleges must prove.’ Please, I'm not interested in the insults and back and forth currently going on on this thread. Here again are my concerns:

First, I challenge the writer of this blog to provide one single evidence that Cool2Vote on Twitter is ’connected’ to Dele Momodu's presidential campaign. If @TeamDeleMomodu and @MrFixNigeria on Twitter send out tweets with the hashtag #Cool2Vote, does that make Cool2Vote a part of Dele Momodu's presidential campaign?

Second, the writer's statement that ’MrFixNigeria is Momodu's campaign manager and the creator of the non-partisan Cool2Vote site’ is another false assertion coloured with half-thruths in what seems to be the writer's hasty attempt to demonise MrFixNigeria. Too bad. To the best of my knowledge, MrFixNigeria or Ohimai is not a website designer and could not have created the non-partisan Cool2Vote site. We know Ohimai as the founder of the Cool2Vote Nigeria Campaign. Not a site creator.

Third, your statement that ’the tweets on his personal account and that of Cool2Vote are often similar in content’ is another attempt at falsehood. How sad. In the interest of social justice which your blog description claims to pursue, I challenge you to provide evidence in MrFixNigeria's Twitter timeline that shows similarity between the content of his tweets and that of @Cool2Vote.

lol! everyone Dokpemu is Sokari Ekine, the writer of this blog (a.k.a. blacklooks. I am 99% sure and I can prove it. How come you replied as soon as i posted my comments early as 7.30 am this morning? of course, only the manager and admin of this blog could be aware of a comment posted this early. she is not sleeping. she is very busy, monitoring comments on her blog and posting out insults in different names. see horror in blogosphere!

I don't believe in Dele Momodu and am yet to see a reason to vote for him but we must learn to call a spade a spade without abuse of privilege. I was on twitter the sunday this fight between Ohimai and Sokari and her friends started. The writer's account here is a one-sided report. I remember seeing tweets like ’You guys are stealing people's ideas’ in response to Ohimai's announcement of their 5 million naira manifesto competition. To be fair, Sokari and her friends started the attacks.And enough of this cockroach thing, even Obama called Sarah Palin a pig though he denied it vehemently but the heavens did not fall. Enough of all these bickering abeg.

Guys, please take a look at this blog. At the end of all comments, there is a section tagged ’Tweets’ and it says ’No one's mentioned this page on Twitter yet. You could be the first.’ Whereas this page has been shared and retweeted on Twitter so many times.this, to me is the real abuse of social media...deceiving people to get publicity for your blog.Lmao!

So we now seem to have diverted from cockroaches to LOL being Sokari and Tahir being Mr FixNigeria?

Nigerians still make me laugh each day and reading this thread hasnt disappointed me.Ohimai may have pushed his luck when he called @blacklooks a Cockroach. I dont know about you but that is an insult. Whether it was intentional or an accident, it was insultive.

Sokari on the other hand may have written this article based on anger and hey y'all she is justified. Its her opinion Get Over it.

Please is this still going on? I am ashamed of a lot of you here and I know a lot of you here even though you use fancy names. Your style of writing and the tone is giving you all away.

as @Adao said let us kiss and make up. You all cursing each other out is certainly not going to achieve anything.

@MrFixNigeria was attacked that sunday and a lot of us followed the thread. @blacklooks is trying to be a victim here but sweetie let us call a spade, a spade. You, @RMAjayi, @Eggheader @authorwales basically ganged up on him and pushed him into a corner. We have the timeline to prove it.

And it appears @blacklooks seems to have a problem with SNG and Cool2Vote or is it she is just observing? She talks about the use and abuse of social media but it looks like someone needs to take a good look again.

P.S: we all forgot about the ugly part of the story. Many of you are Homophobes. Get with the programme Nigerians..We are Queer and we are here. DEAL WITH IT.

its obvious that the owner of this rubbish blog is also a biased individual. u cannot be defending ur ’stupid’ claims on cool2vote, mrfixnigeria and dele momodu and expect people to keep quiet. people like u are the reason why i fear the future generations. this is what i will call cyber curroption and should be probed by e-EFCC. if u have a grudge with someone is it by writing a blog and giving the wrong caption to attract attention and fame when u can nicely request for a meeting and fight or talk it out maturely as the case may be? much ado cockroaches. experience has shown that a bully only respects a bully. what were you and your friends expecting after swarming upon the young man on twitter like a pack of wolves? fela called so many people animals, did that remove from his record as a social crusader? u are here making a fuss about being called cockroach when u are no better than the assassins out there who kill innocent people. this is tantamount to an online assasination attempt.nigeria needs change and that change will come if only we the individuals are willing to change our ways. i am so pissed at the fact that u will give half truths and expect mercy from the crowd. u ochestrated this blog and u must put an end to it by apologizing to urself first for abusing the gift God has given u, and then to dele momodu cos when he wins u will want to become that cockroach u are running from. and then to ohimai, i know ohimai personally and i can tell u, he will not insult u without u instigating. the boy is facing pressure from so many places cos this is the one chance nigeria has to turn things around or have dead men running public office with their recycled ideas.did u not see #teamribadu tweets on @cool2vote as well? why are we so blind to truths? shame.

You perspective on this article is very narrow and hardworking Nigerians are doing there best to ensure that come 2011 elections the best and qualified candidates are elected.

The use of Social Media to create an awareness isVALUABLE and this election is different from anyone in the Political history of our great country. Please use your write to encourage and aviod begin biased.

Some of your notable comments are taken on board and it will be passed on the appropriate key stakeholders.

This publication is years old now but I guess like it is opined, 'what goes online stays online'. #winksI don't think I've appreciated 'lousy'(sorry for lending MrFixNigeria's word) tweets like I just did after reading the conversation.Sometimes, one 'lousy' youth with a 'lousy' comment is enough to show us the real colour of these politicians.

About the author

Sokari Ekine is a Nigerian social justice activist and blogger. She writes an awardwinning blog, Black Looks,
which she started in 2004, writing on a range of topics such as LGBTI
Rights in Africa, gender issues, human rights, the Niger Delta, Haiti
and Land Rights. She is a IRP 2013 Fellow.

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